Elementaltisim Incident 1: The World Turned Upside-Down (Part Eleven)

Waking up is always weird. It goes slow at first, and the once you’re awake, you can barely fall back asleep. It’s so annoying, especially when you wake up at 4:00 a.m. and can’t get back to sleep.

That is exactly how I felt this morning. Like bleh.

I suppose it’s because I’m so stressed right about now. You know what I mean.

And yes…

It is somewhere around 4:00 a.m.

I have no idea though. You’d think there would be clocks around here… but there isn’t.

Crystal’s not awake yet, so I have nothing to do but be stressed. And sit in the early morning light. Boring.

I’m trying to fall back asleep. I used to be able to control this, but with my powers/Force Oblitius trapped in a bottle, I can’t anymore.

It might be worth it to get my powers again.

I know! I’ll ask Force Crystal while Crystal’s still asleep. I slide my fingers into the satchel and feel around for that now-familiar warmth that Force Crystal generates. Wait-there it was. Aha! Found her.

“Hey-Force Crystal…” I whisper to the bottle. I’d feel ridiculous, but I know Force Crystal is there and I trust her.

No reply.

“Force Crystal?” I say again.

Also no reply.

“Are you in there?” I shake the bottle. Who am I kidding-of course she’s in there. This bottle is rainbow and the colors are moving. Definitely Force Crystal.

Wait… I guess since Crystal’s asleep, Force Crystal is too. That’s a pain… for me now and for Force Crystal… like, forever I guess. I mean, if Crystal sleeps for an hour one night, so does Force Crystal. And maybe Crystal can stand it… who knows if Force Crystal can or not. Maybe, considering Force Crystal is Crystal, except broken down.

So what am I gonna do now? No Force Crystal to ask about Force Oblitius.

Oh. Wait.

I almost forget to put Force Crystal back. Well, I’d love to see Crystal’s face when she wakes up and finds no Force Crystal… but she’d probably never trust me again and I can’t risk that, given the fact Force Crystal has told me I need to help her. If she doesn’t trust me, that makes my job a lot harder.

And that would just add to my huge stack of troubles.

Geez.

So many problems.

Not to mention the whole I-need-to-heal-Crystal thing.

I slip Force Crystal back into the bag… and realize…

WHERE’S MUAGPULCUULS?

She must still be in the Dark Dimension. Waiting for me.

What’s she been doing all this time?

I have to find out.

I grab paper from the desk in this room, and a pen. I scratch out, brb. Off on slight errand. C ya later --Oblitius

My handwriting is so weird. I don’t remember it like this. Probably because I might not’ve written in 4 years.

I slide out of the room, closing the door behind me. I feel a little bit bad for leaving them after I’ve found them for the first time in 4 years, but I have to find Muagpulcuuls. I have no choice. I guess now, I have to tell her the truth.

I’ve hidden what she really is for all this time. I can’t hide it any longer. She’ll be showing signs.

Muagpulcuuls isn’t a Miasma Cloud. Her name isn’t actually Muagpulcuuls.

I have to tell her now.

I slip out of the bunker and out into the early morning light. Clutching Force Oblitius in my right palm, I stare at her.

No point in carrying her around my entire life if I’m never going to put her back where she belongs.

Also very dangerous and risky to get her back in.

So… what do I do with her?

I can’t really do anything with her right now.

I know what I might have to do.

I walk over to a pile of rubble. I brush aside some rubble and make a small ring. Then I place Force Oblitius in the center.

I know what I’m doing. Deep breath.

This is an old Death ritual for force energies. I’m performing it because I have no other choice now.

I walk around the circle, making a line with my foot around the rubble circle. It isn’t the most neat thing in the world, but it’ll do. I kneel down and bow to the bottle. A sign of respect for Force Oblitius.

This has to work.

If it fails…

I cannot fail. I scoop up a handful of dirt and sprinkle it over the line I made with my foot. No more boundaries. Force Oblitius will be captured no longer.

She knows what I’m doing now.

She has to let it work. It’s her choice.

This can’t fail.

If it does… the punishment…

Don’t think about that. Think about what you need to do.

I scrape the rubble away from the bottle, and step back, bowing once more. Finally, I loosen the cork on the bottle.

Wait for it.

Force Oblitius seems to hesitate to come out. She knows it’s all on her now.

Two options. Both life-changing.

If she comes out, she’s free and I won’t have powers. But she’s tamed. And I can do anything.

If she stays…

I lose control of my life, and she becomes just a spirit trapped in the human world. She won’t be able to do anything.

But she’s tempted to stay because it means she’s safe from me, from what I’ll do, from becoming a part of me again.

I’ll kill everyone that’s left in this world if she stays. She has to come out.

She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me.

I silently repeat this in my head over and over again, as if it will make her do what I need her to do.

She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me.

She pokes a small part of her out, feeling the air.

She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me.

I hold my breath. Force Oblitius hesitates some more.

She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me. She comes out, she lives, I stay me.

And I exhale.

She’s out of the bottle. All the way. I can breathe again.

She comes over to me. And I pick her up. Acceptance. The last thing.

Force Oblitius is tamed. I’m technically officially the most powerful person in the entire universe right now.

The question is, what do I use this power for?

I won’t think about that right now. For now, I need to get to the Dark Dimension. And find Muagpulcuuls before it’s too late.

Force Oblitius winds herself around my wrist. Right. Power to shape the world.

I focus this power on a portal to the Dark Dimension. I see it start to shape, but I’m not too good at this yet and it pops away. I focus harder and try again, figuring that the more I practice the easier it will get.

Not at first. I’m running out of time. The others will be up soon.

Finally, finally, just as I hear voices inside the bunker, a stable portal appears! A miracle!

I look back at the bunker one last time, and jump into the portal. I hear a POP! and a WHIZZ! and I find myself in the Dark Dimension. I feel a little woozy… guess that portal wasn’t the best.

Speaking of the portal, I turn around. It’s still there. I concentrate, and I can see the other side. I can hear it, too. Panicked voices come from inside. The door suddenly bursts open and Willow, Indigo, Cedar, Crystal, and Typhos are standing there. Typhos runs for the portal, and jumps. I let my instincts take over and the portal closes just before he touches it. Oop. Wait. A small piece of toenail has appeared on the ground. It’s most likely Typhos’s.

I leave the toenail there, and start to walk away-but I stop and head back to the toenail. I bend down and pick it up.

Focusing on the toenail DNA, I discover I can see what’s going on back in the other world through Typhos’s eyes.

“Where did the portal even come from? How did she get it?” Willow is saying.

“I don’t know,” Cedar says. He and Indigo look helpless.

“Guys… you might want to check this out,” Indigo says from over where I performed the ritual. Typhos walks over along with Willow and Cedar and Crystal.

She’s standing by the bottle. The one Force Oblitius was in.

Crystal recognizes it. “This definitely had a force energy in it,” she says, picking it up. “I can feel it.”

“Will the madness never stop?” Typhos complains. I can’t tell what he’s feeling right now, sadly.

“No. It won’t, Typhos. We practically are madness,” Cedar retorts. I have to say, he’s actually kinda right.

Willow agrees. “The madness probably won’t stop, and we can’t control that. But we can control how we handle this madness. So think! If you were Oblitius and you had just gained control of pretty much the whole world, where would you go?”

The gang is quiet for a minute while they think about this.

After a while Cedar says, “Home.”

Willow looks confused, Typhos is trying to figure out what he means, Indigo’s still lost in thought, but Crystal gets it.

“The Dark Dimension,” she says.

Indigo snaps out of it, and Typhos and Willow know where I went now.

“We should go,” someone says. I don't get to find out who because I’ve dropped the toenail and I’m focusing on shutting those portals in my house off before Cedar gets there.

He’s the only one who knows about it, and he knows how to activate the portal. But I put a shield on them, and they’re going to be tough to get down. I stretch my mind to the first one, and start shutting the shield off.

Man, I really did well on those shields.

Plus, I’m still not the best at this whole commanding thing. It’s harder than one would think, because I have to seriously wrap my head around exactly the one thing I’m trying to do. The easiest thing was connecting to Typhos’s head, most likely because I had something to work off of there. That helped.

But maybe I did have something.

I look down at my left shoe and pull it off. I hold it upside-down with my hand beneath it. At first, all that falls out are a few pebbles and some dirt.

But slowly, slowly, purple dust falls out.

The Mist.

It seems so long ago… that time Cedar fell into that mirror and was almost taken by the Mist. I thought I felt something in my shoe… but I dismissed the thought.

Now, here I am, holding a piece of the Mist that has been sitting in my shoe for years.

I focus around it, and suddenly it seems like I’m really there, my mind replaying the dangerous scene that I lived so long ago. I go over to a mirror and stroke it, fingertips pulling the shield off it. I go over to the second mirror and do the same thing. Finally, the third.

Then I go back to the first mirror. I can feel its raw power, ready to strike at any moment. I inhale deeply, and…

Strike the mirror with all the force I have in me.

It feels terrible, and I come close to barfing. But that’s one down, two to go.

I walk to the second, and I’m about to strike it when I hear footsteps. A while off, but approaching fast.

It’s the gang.

I need to hurry. I slam my fist into the mirror, shattering it.

I could stop here. It’s almost impossible to get the portal going without two of the mirrors.

But it’s not, and that’s a risk I can’t afford to take. I dash over to the final mirror.

The most prized one of all. This mirror… I would never forgive myself if I broke this one too. I take a step back.

The footsteps are getting closer. I need to hurry. I place my hand on the mirror, transforming it into a small rabbit. It hops around my feet, able to now move.

I tell it, “Stay here. Do not become your true form no matter what.” It seems to understand, and sits where the mirror once was.

Right on time. Cedar bursts into the place, knowing about the ceiling illusion. He freezes.

Typhos gives him a look that says, You seriously didn’t just drag us out here for a bunch of broken mirrors. Talk about bad luck!

“It didn’t use to be like this,” Cedar says. Then he notices the rabbit/mirror in disguise. “Hi there,” he says. Uh-oh.

Cedar picks up the rabbit. “I think I’ll keep him,” he announces. “This is probably the last rabbit in the entire world.”

“Are you sure?” Willow asks. “Where are you going to keep it?”

“Simple,” Cedar says. “I’ll make a tunnel system and make sure he can’t escape. I think… I’ll name him Cocoa.”

“Great. Now we own a rabbit.” Indigo adds. “And what’s he going to eat, exactly?”

“I’ll grow him food like I do for the people.” Cedar thought of everything.

“Guys… so we own a rabbit named Cocoa. We’ve got to focus on the task at hand!” Typhos exclaims.

“Typhos is right. Cedar, what happened?” Crystal presses on. “Do you think this had something to do with Oblitius?”

Cedar explained about the time he was here, and how the portal worked. “And now… they’re broken, and-hey! Where’s the third one?” Cedar cradles Cocoa. “Were you here when this happened? Where’s the last mirror?”

I freeze. Would the mirror bunny (I’m gonna call him Mirage) show himself? I told him not to…

Mirage/Cocoa hops over to me, and sniffs my feet. He looks at me curiously, unsure what to do. I shake my head silently. I know the gang can’t see me, but I have no idea about hearing me.

“Cocoa, what are you looking at?” Indigo asks. Right. I would need to be careful. Mirage/Cocoa could see me, but the others can’t. If Mirage/Cocoa gives me away… that wouldn’t end well.

“Cocoa,” I whisper. “Do your bunny thing for now… I’ll be back soon.” I need to get to Muagpulcuuls.

I go back to where I presently am, leaving the gang’s conversation to them for now. And I use Force Oblitius to fly all the way back to my house.

When I reach the top, I wonder about Raven and my Nartple too. How they’ve been.

I head inside, worried about my loyal pets. I see a slight bit of tail and follow it to my dining room/kitchen. I finally corner the tail in there, and I can see it’s Raven. He’s so scared. He’s trembling.

“Raven?” I ask. “It’s me. Oblitius.”

Raven relaxes just a bit. “O-Oblitius?” he stutters.

“I’m back. I’m sorry.” That’s all I have to say before Raven throws himself at me, licking my face and being the world’s most excited wolf. “OK! OK! You’re happy. I get it. Where’s Meg?”

Raven becomes serious at the word Meg. “She’s… well, you better come see for yourself. But I’m so glad you’re back! Where have you BEEN?”

“Long story,” I say. “I’ll tell you later.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.” Raven leads me up some stairs and into my old bedroom.

And on my bed is Meg.

She’s still a Miasma Cloud…

“Meg?” I say, to let her know I’m there.

She whirls around… I suppose that’s where her face is. She tries to talk, but I can’t understand her. I focus my mind around it.

‘Help.’

‘I need you to help me.’

“Meg…”

She knows. She just doesn’t understand.

“I’ll help. You have to listen to me, Meg. Actually… that’s not your name. I should say, Monserrate. Or Mon, if you like. I invented Muagpulcuuls, or, Meg, to protect you. Every day as you got older, I’d tell myself, ‘I’ll tell her today.’ And then I met Cedar, and I never got the chance.

“Mon, I’m missing 4 years of my life, and I need them back. But I can help you, 4 years or not. You’re not… you’re not a Miasma Cloud.”

She nods. She already knows.

“Do you know what you are?”

Mon shakes her head.

“You’re a… a…”

This is probably the hardest moment of my life.

“A-a-a…”

She has to know. Say it. It’s hard…

“I’m sorry.” I look away. “You want to know… but I’m afraid.”

Afraid of what?

Her voice is melodious in my head. I can hear her… thanks to my newly-tamed force energy.

The Dark World is all the Dark/Death/Spirits/Dark Force things combined. Mon’s the goddess of it all. And Dark Force is like force energy.

I-what?

“It’s true. I’m sorry I kept it so long. From you.”

It’s alright… this is just so sudden.

“Please don’t leave.”

I won’t.

“Thank you.”

Can I just say… blech.

“Understandable.”

Mon glows at this. What’s happening? She transmits.

“You know… now it’s happening.”

Wait! Can’t I control this?

I shake my head.

Mon continues to glow. She doesn’t look like a Miasma Cloud anymore. She looks like a gold cloud. Soon she’s so bright I can’t look without going blind. When I see the light die down out of the corner of my eye, I look.

I could never of expected what I saw. There’s no way to describe it. I guess… this:

Yeah… floating chains and all. They weren’t wrapping around her, just floating, as if waiting for a command.

Mon lifts her arm, and the chains lift with it. She tries to speak, but nothing comes out.

I guess I’ll have some things to get used to. Hold on…

“It’s OK… I’ll help you.”

No, no! I’m a goddess… can’t I…

“If you can’t speak yet… it’s fine! Take your time.”

I don’t want to take my time! Let me do this!

“Don’t focus on speaking yet. I’ll keep everyone away, and it can just be us until you’re ready.”

Stop! Leave me alone! Please just wait…

“Wait for what?” I’m confused.

Just hold on!

She’s frustrated. I know the feeling. She wants to do whatever this is herself, and she wonders why I don't understand that. Well, I do.

I back up and sit down. “Alright.”

She relaxes, and closes her eyes. Wait.

I close my eyes, too, and think for a while. I open them again when I hear a (very loud) POP!

Mon’s not there… where could she of gone?

But I hear her in my head. I miss being Muagpulcuuls. I can’t deny who I am now, but I can do this in a different shape, right?

“Where are you?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”

OK, I'm writing this as me, not Oblitius, the computer is being weird here. There's going to be some strange gaps.

And then guess who appears next to me… a Miasma Cloud. Hey, I hear.

“Oh my gosh! Mon? You… you…”

I’m a goddess, I can probably do anything Death-related.

“You know there’s got to be a limit.”

Yeah.

“So… do you think you can leave the Dark Dimension?”

Probably… I’ll try and go for a Surface Miasma Cloud.

Oh yeah… there’s three types of Miasma Clouds. The most common is Surface, which are the ones that roam the upper world, taking people to the Under World. Those are all over.

Then there’s Cave, which live in dirt. Those are probably just as common as Surface, but they’re harder to find because they’re kind of like dirt spirits, blending in perfectly.

And finally there’s the rarest type, which I made Muagpulcuuls to be. Antagonist types. They live in a rare few places, mainly Death related places. They can’t live if they’re ever exposed to light, which is one reason Meg was one. I made sure she could never go to the surface with me. Antagonists go around mainly at night, looking for wandering souls to steal and absorb for their own life. Kinda creepy.

“Good idea. I know Meg wasn’t a Surface Cloud, but try.”

I will.

Mon’s shape changes slightly, but there’s virtually no difference. She settles on my shoulder and prepares to see the outside world. She’s bound to have a lot of questions. I start thinking about everything that defines the Surface World and figure out how to define them, like trees or grass.

And then I take a deep breath. I need to remember not to say anything about the conversations I heard through my force energy, or they’ll know I was spying on them. And I need to be careful with what I say about force energy taming, or they’ll think I’m too powerful.

Oh, man… I know what it’s called when you tame your force energy. What is it… if only I could remember!

Force… no, something Wielder? Wait, that’s Plant Wielders. Something… something that has to do with mastering… something Master! Death Master? No. Why can’t I remember this? Why can’t I remember anything? My name! The name of what I am! I can’t remember anything that has to do with my name. Why? I knew my name for a split second, and then I forgot it. Why?

And… wait. I’m a Something Master! I just need to focus.

Oblitius? Are you OK?

“I’m fine… I just need a second.” I tell Mon, then think. I can see it… there’s no way to describe it. It’s like a search engine. I tell it what I want, and it brings up anything about what I say.

I think, Oblitius history and I see things about me. I can’t make sense of any of it, though, so I add name.